Yesteryear
by Maxixe Beryl
Summary: Desperate for answers, Gabriel and his best friend Amarii set off on a journey to learn more about Gabriel's late father and infamous cult leader, Daniel Knight. Prior to his death Daniel had planned a treasure hunt for his son, as Gabriel was instructed to follow his father's trail of death from summer camp to summer camp. And what waits for him may be more than he prepared for.
1. The Knight is Ours

**1**

 _"The Knight is Ours"_

The scent of gasoline filled the air as Gabriel begrudgingly stepped out of his battered old sedan so he could have a smoke. He faced away from the car and dispensers of gas as he lit his cigarette. He breathed the smoke in deeply, holding it for a moment before exhaling. The hair-raising chill of the breeze encompassing the area made him recoil as he tapped his cigarette shakily. It was close to midnight in late spring, so the breeze could've been worse, Gabriel thought.

"It's dangerous to smoke so close, ya'know," a nasally voice from inside his sedan barked. Gabriel let out a gruff chuckle before taking another puff of his cigarette and blowing the smoke towards the voice as a sign of dissent.

"Bite me," he replied as the remaining smoke seeped from his mouth and nose. A group of motorcycles then raced by the gas station, creating a thunderous echo in their wake. "Loud motherfuckers," Gabriel hissed before putting out his cigarette and pulling his jacket tighter around his shoulders. He then turned and walked around the car to pay for the gas, he fished around in his pockets for his debit card and after finding it he slipped into the ancient machine. It beeped at him a few times before spitting out the plastic card.

"Shit, gotta pay inside," he grumbled and shoved the card back in his jacket. "Amarii give me a twenty from the glovebox," he ordered and turned to the passenger side window. The woman in the front seat gave him a bored side glance before snapping open the glovebox and shoving random debris aside and handing him a crumpled twenty-dollar bill.

"We can't keep relying on our stash, Gabe," Amarii relayed to him and repositioned her left leg over her right knee. Gabriel let out an annoyed sigh before meandering into the brightly lit convenience store. He looked about the aisles in a jaded manner before going up to the teller.

"Twenty on five," he told the teenage cashier and held out the bill.

"This twenty has seen better days," the cashier chuckled and flattened out the currency before putting it away. Gabriel just nodded. The teller obviously wasn't going to let him go that easily though. "So, what're you doing out at this time'a the night?" Gabriel eyed the teen with blatant irritation, the glare seemed to surprise the probably sixteen-year-old cashier, but they pressed on with an unaltered smile.

"Sorry that's classified information," Gabriel answered rudely and snatched the receipt. The clerk laughed somewhat awkwardly.

"All right then, have a good night," they said with a toothy smile. Gabriel just sneered at them before making his way out. As he walked back to the car, he ran a hand through his hair, trying to smooth down the dirty blonde strands that had escaped his man-bun, which he began to sport out of necessity because he had developed a case of permanent bed-head due to his current situation.

"What are you doing Bunny?" Gabriel asked as he passed the passenger side of his car. Amarii was leaned over doing or looking for something on the floor of the car. He then hopped into the driver's seat with a light slam of the door. Amarii slowly looked up at Gabriel then snapped her head to the window anxiously. "Hey, you okay?" he nudged her shoulder, now noticeably nervous.

"There was a cop," she whispered and straightened her bright aqua blue hair with a swipe of her hand. Just the word 'cop' made Gabriel tense, his eyes widened, and he surveyed the area apprehensively. "They're gone now, but I leaned over just in case," she mumbled. He reached over and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly, then turned his attention to the steering wheel as he started the car. The radio came to life with a scratchily annoying country song and Gabriel abruptly turned the volume down.

"Got the map?" he asked and pulled out onto the road. Amarii nodded and unfolded a large worn out piece of paper. She turned the paper every which way as she tried to read it in the dark.

"This is so stupid Gabe, if we had a phone or GPS this would be an absolute breeze," she huffed angrily.

"You know why we can't have a phone, Bunny," Gabriel answered calmly. The road was utterly empty, no car in sight. They saw the occasional semi-truck and SUV on the highway on the way here, but this tiny town was nearly vacant completely.

"What the hell even is this place? Did we travel back in time when we crossed the state line?" Amarii complained and tilted the map toward the window as they passed under a row of street lights.

"Sleepy Peak, apparently," Gabriel replied and eased onto the brake as they approached a stop sign. "The last place my father stayed before the crazy house."

"Sleepy is an understatement," the girl retorted with a throaty chuckle, "that must mean the camp isn't far from here, yeah?"

"About thirty miles out, so yeah, it's not too far,"

"Just one more night, and I get an actual bed!" she exclaimed and threw her arms up, dropping the map onto her lap. Gabriel flashed a smile as he turned onto a dirt road heading deeper in the woods.

"Probably not an actual bed, I think they sleep on cots," he said and smirked deviously at his friend. Amarii stuck her tongue out at him in reply.

"Better than the back seat or your chest," she retorted.

"I'm offended!" Gabriel feigned being hurt and covered his smiling mouth with hand dramatically. "I thought girls liked sleeping on their boyfriend's chest."

"You're not my boyfriend you dirty fuck," she hissed with a hint of sarcasm. She tried to hold a grossed out look but it quickly dissolved into a dopey grin and giggles. Gabriel laughed along with her, trying to keep his eyes on the road. "Besides, you snore like a hog and it's almost painful for me because I can feel it vibrate through your entire body," she added.

"I told you to get ear plugs," he retorted.

"I told you I needed that money for food, we can't live on gas station nachos and knock off cola you hobo."

"I think we've been doing okay,"

"Yeah, you're doing okay, your inhuman six feet nine inches ass can probably live just fine on unsalted crackers and rain water for a year, but me? My fat ass needs nutrients."

"You implying I'm not human?"

"I mean…" Amarii paused for dramatic effect, "your dad did murder over two hundred children and still managed to get released after spending only one year in a mental hospital."

"That was only because of insufficient evidence but okay,"

"Still, it wouldn't surprise me if he wasn't human, which would make you not human,"

"Wouldn't surprise me either honestly, but that's what we're gonna find out, right?"

* * *

The sun was almost a quarter way into the sky when Amarii woke up. She blinked sleepily and moved her arm from out under her head, it was dead asleep and would probably need a minute or two to regain feeling. She glanced around the car to see Gabriel inclined back in the passenger seat, he had his jacket draped over his head and his hair was down, which Amarii didn't see too often. It'd been a good few weeks since either of them had a shower, so his dirty blonde locks were greasy and thin. His tanned and freckled skin used to be so well taken care of, but now it was patchy and flakey. He bared some scars along both his arms Amarii would play with now and again, it seemed to calm him down. Subconsciously she reached out and ghosted her fingers down his hanging arm. When she reached his hand, she looked closely at how long his fingernails had gotten, without proper access to hygiene related items he appeared to just let everything go. Amarii tried to keep herself somewhat presentable, she brushed her hair out, tied it up nice and neat, washed her face and any exposed skin when they happened to find a tolerable bathroom. Some things couldn't seem to replace warm running water and soap though as she still reeked, and her hair still looked wet all the damn time.

Amarii let out a soft yawn and stretched her arms out in front of her, the car was muggy and thanks to the trees that surrounded them it was still faintly lit. They parked off the road behind a string of giant pine trees, hoping they were hidden enough from any cars or people on the road. She propped herself up on her elbows and aloofly looked outside through the window above her head. It was getting close to summer but since they were considerably high up in the mountains it still occasionally snowed lightly during the nights. The forest was picturesque; lightly covered in snow and glistening frost. Amarii could make out the slight breeze as it gently pushed the branches of the white tipped trees in an almost rhythmic way. The forest presented itself and moved differently than from those she had ever previously seen. Others were chaotic and had separate pockets that did not follow the same movement as others like it. This forest and everything around it moved in a rhythm with everything else, as if it were singing and dancing along to a long-forgotten song. She watched the silent symphony outside until shuffling startled her from her stupor. She looked over to see Gabriel now on his stomach with his forearm under his chin as he blinked repeatedly, trying to wake up.

"Morning, precious," she teased. He blew a raspberry at her before yawning, in the middle of his yawn though it turned into an exaggerated groan.

"I need a smoke," he growled and stretched, his hands gripping the headrest so tight his knuckles turned white.

"Your mom is going to kick your ass when she finds out you're smoking again," Amarii said offhandedly and sat up. She then bent down and grabbed one of her tank tops off the floor and slipped it on, not bothering with a bra. Gabriel made a noise of dismissal then popped the car door open, causing a sudden gust of absolutely freezing air to sweep through the humid car.

"Mom's gonna have to catch me first, and that's not gonna happen," Gabriel said and stepped out of the passenger seat with his box of cigarettes. He slammed the door and took in a deep breath of the woodsy air.

"Keep telling yourself that, momma's boy," Amarii said to herself and made her way into the passenger seat with a quiet huff. She then pulled out the tatty map and marked on it with an almost dried out sharpie. On the sheet of paper were several other marked areas, numerous circled and crossed out. Off to the side of the sheet were the names of summer camps and outdoor schools, all but one were crossed out. The last un-crossed out area was labeled ' **Camp Campbell** ', and next to it was written ' **caution – unfinished business** '. Amarii eyed it with curiosity, as Gabriel had yet to tell her why he wrote that. She tried to get it out of him on the first few days of their _trip_ but was only met with 'don't worry about it' or 'shut up'. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when Gabriel circled the car and pulled open the driver's side door. With a nicotine scented exhale, he turned the key in the ignition.

"You finally gonna tell me about this…Camp Campbell?" Amarii said with a twitch of her lip. Gabriel drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he pressed on the gas, the car lurched forward, coming to an abrupt stop, then shooting forward again. The jerking of the car made Amarii slam her head on the headrest and forced her to grab the designated 'oh shit handle' to keep her sitting upright.

"If I have too, I suppose," he finally replied after a long silence when they were on the road at last. "Mom worked there in her twenties, ya'know it's your average dead-end, thankless job so you can save money for something better in a better town, right?"

"Yeah like when you worked at _Hoagies_ that one summer," Amarii commented as she eyed the map. Gabriel shot her a hateful look she didn't see but knew he was giving her.

"We don't talk about _Hoagies_ , so hush and let me tell the story," he snapped and swerved the car suddenly, so she'd smack her head on the window. She let out a shrill squeak and looked at him with her dull grey eyes. He met her eyes for a moment then turned back to the road. "Apparently while she worked there, she met my father—,"

"And she lived?" Amarii interrupted.

"Amarii I swear to fuck," Gabriel hissed and ground his teeth together, Amarii just gave him a smug look, "yes, she lived, **obviously** …Camp Campbell was the last camp my monster father tried to purify before being caught. One of the counselors there, an apparent _friend_ of mom's, actually managed to stop Daniel's attack via song." He said, referring to his father by his real name.

" _No fucking way!_ That's pretty cool," Amarii gushed and folded up the map. "Well, dare I say, _campy_ , but cool," she added with a chuckle. Gabriel just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah apparently the guy was known for being a walking talking G-rated animated movie, but that's not what we're focusing on."

"Oh, since it's probably heading that way, you did never tell me how your parents got together. Your mom seems like a no-nonsense kinda chick, how did she fall for a mass murderer?"

"Love is blind they say, but unfortunately that can't be said for my parents," Gabriel took a deep breath then exhaled rather loudly. "I don't wanna get _too much_ into it really, since I don't know everything, my mom is pretty sensitive about the whole thing understandably, but I got what I could from police reports, phone logs, and my mom's journals."

"You were a rape baby, I'm calling it now," Amarii blurted out. Gabriel's forehead met the steering wheel so fast it made his blue-haired friend jump slightly.

"I hate you Amarii," he whispered.

"You just hate me because I'm right all the time you big fucking baby,"

"That too but still,"

"So your dad, the big bad cult leader, thee Daniel Knight, raped your mom, probably because the fucking stars told him too or some crazy shit and because your mom gets attached to things too damn easily she kept you after beating your dad to death?" Amarii had a habit of making everything overly dramatic, Gabriel would say he hates it, but it's another reason he loves the bitch so much. He'd never admit that though.

"Not exactly, you really didn't do any research, did you? My parents actually had a consensual relationship for the most part, according to my mom's journals, but she did mention how forceful Daniel was," Gabriel continued in a more serious tone. Daniel Knight was the most notorious mass murderer that side of the rockies, and though Gabriel would occasionally say 'my father' when referring to him, he would mostly refer to him by his real name. Since he didn't want to actually give the monster credit for his creation. As of the police records and his official sentence, Daniel murdered 203 children and teens along with 14 adults, making him the second most proficient serial killer in American and Canadian history. He did all of his killing alone as well, having mastered manipulation on a stellar scale, he was able to dispatch camp after camp with ease. His motives remained unclear for the most part, some say he was following his cult's beliefs while others say the cult was an excuse to murder others because he enjoyed it. As Daniel didn't seem to follow the cult's 'laws' too strictly and would even blatantly break rules to do what he wanted.

"I did some research…your dad was a high priest or something in his sect, he was like their king pretty much," Amarii mumbled. "Weren't priests not allowed to have sexual relationships though?" Gabriel nodded.

"Although _high priests,_ or whatever, were prohibited from pro-creating until they finished their _reign_ , or something, Daniel thought he was above his idiotic religion's rules and since my mom matched the description of one of their _goddesses_ he made it his goal to have her," Gabriel explained and spat some words like they were poison on his tongue. "Of course with his golden manipulation skills he won my mom over after returning from being released from the mental hospital. He worked at the shitty camp for a year or so before he convinced my mom to ditch the place. I think she was pregnant with me at that point, I'm not entirely sure, but of course mom and the sunshine counselor got into an argument and it only fueled my mom's fire to leave so blah, blah, blah, Romeo and Juliet shit, he's the bad boy and she's the painfully normal girl looking for an escape. Ya'know the usual rom-com bullshit."

"Except the bad boy quite fucking literally murdered children and maimed his own with zero remorse," Amarii added as she crossed her legs nonchalantly.

"Daniel had convinced mom that he was under some brainwashing spell from his cult and that he was, and I quote, 'back to who he originally was', and even though my mom had a fucking major in psychology how she still didn't catch his embarrassingly obvious red flags of him being a fucking sociopath is beyond me."

"Love is blind, like you said," Amarii laughed, "well, not really in this case, I guess, lust is blind? Infatuation is blind? Either would be sorta right." Gabriel nodded stoically. "It finally hit your mom like a bag of bricks labeled 'you fucked up', when she came home to find crazy altar boy carving a Z into his son's face, or was it before that?"

Gabriel let out a dry laugh, "It was before that surprisingly, she picked up some signs when I was around four I think? But she ignored them like the awesome mother she was." It actually hurt him a bit to say that, he loved his mom, he did, but given his pessimistic personality he couldn't help but dog on her obvious bad parenting skills in the past. She wasn't around to hear it, so he didn't regret it too much.

"And you know the Z incident didn't happen until I was six, so she had a good two years to get her shit together but didn't."

"You're glad I'm a good friend and not a fucking narc because I'd tell your mom everything you're fucking saying right now if I was," Amarii complacently chattered, turning her pale grey eyes in Gabriel's direction. He gave her a squinted glare in return.

"Good luck, payphones don't fucking exist anymore and you're too chickenshit to actually ask a stranger for a phone, so you're stuck with me baby, whether you like it or not," he sneered devilishly. Amarii just returned the grin happily.

"Maybe I do like it," she added almost in a whisper. "Oh, but as much as I enjoy your terrible back story what does this 'unfinished business' bit got to do with the camp?"

"Oh, from what I read off the pamphlets I got about the camp, the sunshine counselor _still_ works there, name's David Atwood," Gabriel answered and turned the car down a sharp turn, "but he's supposedly the sunshine _owner_ now, the previous owner who I'm assuming was Campbell, died some odd years ago."

"So this dude has been working at this place for twenty plus years? That's dedication if I've ever heard of it. You think this guy will know you? That's why there's a note of caution?"

"Ah…well, I wouldn't say _know me_ , I'd say he might see my relations, he knew both my parents, one he hated with every fiber of his being and the other he was pretty close friends with. My mom once told me when she was drunk that she wished she'd gotten together with him instead."

" _Ooh_. Okay, I see, so you'll think he'll treat you unfairly because of your parents?"

"That…that would make sense, wouldn't it? I mean I was victimized all the time when I was a kid because I appeared on that dumb talk show that did a story on Daniel. They didn't even use my real name or show my face and I still got recognized."

"You never met the guy personally, right?"

"I don't think so, mom avoids the topic of my childhood, so I might've when I was a baby. She's actually never told me _where_ exactly I was born, it might've been at the camp now that I think about it," Gabriel seemed to looked pained as he talked, he could just see his mother's face when he brought this topic up. Her brilliant violet eyes would dull and become half-closed. What little she told Gabriel about the camp and the counselor she refused to name aloud, he could tell it was quite the sour note for her. He was a pretty stubborn kid though, so he would pester and pester her about his dad, their past, and just everything she plainly didn't want to talk about. It wasn't until he was about thirteen that he could appropriately do research on his dad and learn all he could. Even when he participated in the daytime talk-show story on his dad, he didn't know much. Before then, all he knew was that his dad wasn't a good man and was not with them anymore. Gabriel's mom, Gwen Vega, couldn't avoid the topic of death though, as much as she tried, because her son witnessed his father's death at the young impressionable age of seven.

"Well he's gonna know who you are when he finds out your name,"

"You really think I'm gonna use my real name? We've been on the road running from dumbass cops, my mom, and your parents for six months using fake names and stolen cards. You _really_ think I'm gonna use my real name when we finally reached the end of our search?"

"I'm not stupid, Gabriel," Amarii retorted with an angry glare, "you know damn well as I that if this guy has a history with your parents there's a good fucking chance he'll realize who you are, and all our hard work will go down the fucking drain!"

"Fuck, **I know** , but from what my mom wrote about this guy, he's stupidly dense. So we just gotta be careful going about our plan. Avoid as much contact as possible, tell no one our names, where we came from, anything! And for the love of god, Amarii, keep your damn story straight!"

"It's not my fault you changed details without telling me you dick!"

"It wouldn't have mattered if you didn't feel the need to flirt with anyone remotely your type you hoe!"

"Oh like you didn't melt when that rugged counselor from the Blackwood Valley camp so much as looked in your general direction!"

"AMARII I WILL THROW YOU OUT OF THIS CAR GOING EIGHTY DON'T FUCKING TEMPT ME!"

"FIGHT ME YOU GAY MOTHERFUCKER!" The two shrieked at each other for a good minute or so before a dilapidated wooden sign came into view from between the trees. It looked like it'd been repainted several times but the paint never correctly stuck or was washed off in one way or another. So the probably forty-year-old sign read 'CAMP CAMP'.

"All right, get out of my car," Gabriel growled and put the car in park. Amarii grabbed his wrist before he could get out though.

"We need to go over what we're going to do first, stupid," she snapped. He sighed and pulled his arm away from the door handle.

* * *

"Max!" Hana called into the mess hall, "where are the application papers?" the nineteen-year-old girl pushed the mess hall door shut as she looked around for her older brother. She swept a lock of her curly pinkish red hair behind her ear as she peeked into the kitchen from the serving window. No one was there but the pantry door was open. "Maximus!" she shouted again.

" _What?_ " an agitated and very groggy voice replied from inside the pantry. "Don't fucking yell, I have a headache."

"You wouldn't have a headache if you didn't drink after midnight," Hana shot back with a crooked lip.

"I don't back down from a challenge, you know this," he answered sleepily. Hana sighed as she stepped into the kitchen and peered into the pantry to see her adopted brother sitting on the floor up against the shelf with cracker sheaths and three half empty water bottles scattered around him. He was shirtless and only had a pair of shorts on; his chin-length curly black hair was pulled back with a pink princess themed clip. Hana could see the sweat that lightly coated his brown skin and the dark rings under his usually lively bluish green eyes were more prominent that they usually were.

"You look like shit," Hana told him, trying not to smile.

"Really? I couldn't tell," he retorted then burped loudly, he lurched forward and was probably about to vomit but managed to stop himself and lean back again. His eyes squeezed shut and he held his shaking hands over his mouth.

"I'll get you a trashcan, don't die while I'm gone," she said and turned away from the pantry. He just hiccupped and then groaned in response. The second she was out of sight the biggest smile spread across her face and she tried her absolute best not to burst out laughing. Her brother was naturally reckless, but very rarely did he get quite thoroughly shitfaced. His girlfriend, Nikki, challenged him to a shot drinking contest and of course he lost pathetically after four shots, given he did have two full glasses of beer before that. But Nikki demolished him with ten shots after the same amount of beer as him and she was outside setting up tents like she wasn't affected at all. Hana swore since she was little that her brother's girlfriend wasn't human. She glanced around the kitchen then pulled open the cabinet under the sink, she grabbed a plastic bin and turned back to the pantry. She treaded into the dimly lit cold-room and set the bin next to her hungover brother. He rubbed his eyes before grabbing the can and setting it between his legs.

"Thanks," he grumbled and rested his head on the shelf behind him. Hana just shook her head disappointingly.

"Yeah, yeah. So where are the chef application sheets? I need to get them down to the Job Center before noon,"

"The wha—oh those, uh…" he hiccupped again, "I think they're in your dad's office, under the—," he burped suddenly, his eyes shot open and he threw his head into the trashcan and puked. The pink bejeweled clip in his hair drifted forward and strands of his shaggy black hair fell into his face. Reluctantly Hana knelt down beside him and fixed his hair away from the line of fire. She recoiled slightly at the feeling of his sweat drenched hair. When he was done spitting the remains of bile in his mouth he pulled his head away and swatted sluggishly at Hana's hand. She ignored him though and pulled his bangs back and fixed the clip over them. The clip belonged to his five-year-old daughter Xena, she was in the adorable kiddie phase where all she wanted to do was make everyone's hair pretty.

"You done?" Hana asked after she brushed Max's hair behind his ears and checking there wasn't any vomit in it. He just nodded, clearly not feeling like talking anymore. "All righty then, I'll tell Nikki where you are, so she can take care of your sorry hungover ass," she said and stood up, dusting off her jean shorts.

"Tell her I want orange juice and ty—tylenol," he said dryly as Hana turned away from him. She was tempted to tell him to tell her himself, but she gave him some slack, he was in pain and disoriented.

"Uh-huh," she mumbled with a wave of her hand. She trotted out of the kitchen and made her way out of the mess hall when a car driving up caught her eye from the bay window near the door. She cocked her head curiously before opening up the door and b-lining straight to the car. She thought they must be arriving for the counselors' position, she'd put up the ads yesterday but very rarely did they get applicants so quickly. She'd have to tell them to come tomorrow though because her dad conducts the interviews and he won't be back until then. It was an old looking white sedan, there was a big dent on the right side's backseat door and she could tell the car had been keyed more than once. Mud caked the undercarriage and the tires looked stained brown. She watched for a moment as the two people inside the car talked. When they caught her looking they shot each other serious looks before getting out.

"How can I help you?" She said in the most professional voice she could muster. The driver was a really tall thin man, probably no younger than she was, with bronzed skin and long dirty blonde almost light tan hair. He had it pulled into a lazy man-bun and his almost glazed over eyes were a pale lavender. Oddly enough he had a pretty nasty looking scar over his right eye in the shape of a Z.

"Yeah, you in charge here?" the driver asked. He wore a grey tank top under a plain black jacket, and tattered dark blue jeans with dirty brown boots.

"No, not technically, what do you need?"

"I need the person in charge," the man said, his tone a bit darker.

"He's not here, and the next best person is…unavailable," Hana answered tensely. The guy let out a gruff sigh and turned to the woman standing beside him. She was much shorter than him, even shorter than Hana, most likely just about five feet, give or take a few inches. She was somewhat overweight as well; with thick thighs, a pudgy belly, and large breasts. She wore a black tank top with the words "I'm not gay – but $20 is $20" in white, along with jean shorty shorts and pink dollar store flip flops.

"Who is the third best person then?" the woman asked pleasantly. Her skin was a touch tan with scattered freckles and her long wavy hair was a pretty aqua blue that faded into a pastel blue at the tips. She had it up in a high ponytail that still reached her mid back; along with straight-cut bangs with longer chin-length strands on both sides to frame her face. Hana thought for a moment as she studied the two strangers.

"Uh, my brother's girlfriend," she said, mostly to herself. Then craned her head around toward the activity field to see the tents beyond it already up and Nikki out of sight.

"Fetch her then, don'cha?" the man spat rudely. Hana gave him a stunned look then glanced to his friend as if attempting to confirm he actually said that. The woman just gave her a shrug and forced smile.

"Right…" she finally said after the speechless pause. "Wait here please," she uttered and dashed away past the mess hall and toward the counselor's cabin. She looked around aimlessly then swung the cabin door open.

"Nikki?" she called into the void of the cabin. None of the lights were on but the light from the rising sun kept it fairly well lit. Only silence answered her, so she proceeded to whip around melodramatically. "Nikki!" she shouted with her hands cupped around her mouth and walked slowly in direction of the mess hall again.

"What's up buttercup?" a calm voice greeted her from behind. Hana squeaked and whirled around to see the woman she was looking for. Nikki was stocky in stature, with visibly toned muscles, suntanned (but still considerably white) skin that was covered in scars and the occasional bruise. Her hair was a curly sea-green color that stretched to a little past her shoulders. She had two large logs resting on her left shoulder and appeared to be carrying them with ease.

"Oh, there you are, there's some people at the entrance asking for the person in charge," she tried to explain without sounding anxious. Nikki gave her a perplexed look as she dropped the logs. She wore the standard Camp Campbell green t-shirt with a pine tree on it along with brown shorts that she's ripped and repaired more than once.

"They say what they want?" she asked and brushed her hands together to clean them of debris. Hana shook her head.

"Nope, just that they wanted to talk to the boss,"

"The boss ain't here, hon,"

"I know, but just talk to them, will you?" Hana pled as they walked toward the entrance of the camp. Nikki just nodded and put on the best stern face she could muster. When the strangers came into view they saw the man sitting on the hood of his car while the woman was leaning against the passenger side door.

"What can I do ya for, kids?" Nikki asked and put her fists on her hips. The guy gave her a cold side glance that when Nikki caught it she swore she'd seen those eyes before. Half lidded and strikingly purple, they were almost like a nostalgic memory come to life for her.

"Yes, we're here for the counselors' job," the woman said with a faint smile. Nikki gave Hana a quick glance. Why did they ask for the person in charge if that's all they wanted? Hana thought with a slight scowl, she could've told them what Nikki was about too.

"Ah yes, usually we don't get people the day after putting up the ads but that's not a problem," Nikki chattered politely despite being startled. "Well, not too big'a problem, see the owner of this place does the interviews and processes the paperwork, he doesn't trust any of us to do it."

"You mean he doesn't trust you or Max to do it because you don't know how," Hana butted in with an offended voice. Nikki just let out a snort and put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Yup, I won't lie, but you can't do it either, can ya?"

"I can't because dad won't let me, I know how," she retorted with a pout.

"Right-o then, we can take your guys' names and numbers and call you tomorrow when the head honcho returns, yeah?" Nikki said happily and pulled out her phone. The two strangers were quick to look at each other with unsure faces. Nikki noticed this, "something wrong?"

"Ah…well, we don't have a phone," the man answered with a passive shrug of his shoulders.

"Aaaand we were hoping we could stay here…tonight," the woman added with pleading eyes. She clapped her hands together and puffed up her bottom lip as well. Nikki looked down at Hana with a quizzical expression, Hana just returned it with one of her own.

"Excuse us a minute, won't ya?" Nikki said, put both her hands on Hana's shoulders and guided her toward the mess hall. When they were safely inside and out of ear's reach, Nikki let out a soft sigh.

"You're not actually considering this are you?" Hana questioned disapprovingly. Nikki sighed again, but this time louder. "I don't trust them, Nik," she said and turned her head away toward the window.

"The boy…he seemed so familiar, like I've met him before," Nikki said and idly put her fingers to her mouth and her other arm around her chest. Hana looked over at her with a suspicious look; she'd never seen her this still before. Never really seen her stop and think about something either. Whatever she saw in that man's eyes really got to her. Hana turned her eyes to the wooden floor and thought; what was so special about him? Nothing came to her mind, no distant memory, no nostalgic flashback, nothing.

"What do you mean, Nik?" she finally asked. Nikki seemed to come out of her stupor with a sharp shake of her head.

"It's…it's nothing, why don't you call your dad and ask him what he thinks we should do?" she uttered and curved away from the teen, toward the kitchen door. Hana watched her for another moment, trying to decipher this change in demeanor. With no luck she grabbed her phone from her shorts pocket and called her dad.

* * *

"The employee cabins are this way," the lively redhead chirped and guided Gabriel and Amarii down a row of tall green tents. "You two are gonna wanna share a cabin, yeah?" she asked and gave them a backwards glance. Gabriel looked down at his friend.

"Of course," Amarii replied with a smile.

"What are your names, by the way? I'm Hana Atwood," she introduced with a friendly smile but kept walking. Gabriel swallowed the lump in his throat. So this was the sunshine counselor's daughter.

"Nice to meet you Miss Atwood! I'm Sam and this is my friend Sean," Amarii said and lightly grabbed Gabriel's arm. She was extraordinarily good at lying, like it came natural to her like eating and drinking did. It was honestly kind of scary, Gabriel thought.

"Miss? Please, just call me Hana," the redhead laughed and stopped as they entered a short row of adorable log cabins. There were four cabins, two on each side of the makeshift path, "It's nice to have you here, Sam, Sean. I hope you like it, my dad will be here tomorrow to do your interviews, but we don't get many applicants, so you don't need to worry too much about not getting the job."

"Oh I don't believe that! This place is absolutely beautiful, who wouldn't wanna be here?" Amarii gushed and put her hands on her cheeks in a display of admiration. Gabriel resisted the urge to gag. Hana just giggled agreeably.

"You sound like my dad, oh gosh," she snickered, "well, I'll leave you to your new digs, if you need me or Nikki, we'll be in the mess hall. It's the big building by the flagpole. Oh and dinner's at six too!" Hana explained and hopped on her toes before walking away. Gabriel watched her for a lingering moment, looking her up and down. He was nudged by Amarii just as Hana disappeared around the corner.

"Like what you see, lover boy?" she said and smiled ear to ear. Gabriel just put his palm to her forehead and pushed her away.

"Put your shit in the stupid cabin," he just mumbled with a resisted grimace. Amarii laughed loudly and hoisted her duffle bag on her shoulder and trotted into the cabin. They were surprised and elated to see actual beds. There were two bunkbeds on each side, with fitted sheets and two pillows on each mattress. It was almost like a studio set-up, the two bunkbeds were in the far corners and by the door was a circular rug, two arm chairs, a coffee table and a big backed tv. Just across from that was a small wooden desk with complementary blank papers and a plastic cup with pencils and pens. Between the two beds was a door, probably to the bathroom. Amarii was undeniably glowing.

"Oh I've never been so happy to see bunkbeds before in my life!" she squealed and flopped onto the bottom bunk of the right bunkbed. "And there's a bathroom holy shit! And tv! Ooh, _Gabriel!_ This is heaven!" she cried and bounced around on the mattress before shooting up and dashing into the bathroom.

"SWEET TAP DANCING CHRIST THERE'S A SHOWER WITH A BATHTUB!" Amarii screamed practically at the top of her lungs. Gabriel put his duffle bag down on the opposite bottom bunk.

"Calm down, they'll think I'm murdering you," he told her and peeked his head into the bathroom. The small room was pretty quaint to tell the truth, it had a white tiled floor with the same log covered walls as the rest of the cabin, but cute little pictures of the forest and lake were hung on the wall. There was a small porcelain sink with a mirror/medicine cabinet just above it to the left when you walked in the room. The toilet was on the far end of the room with the shower next to the sink. Across from the shower was a towel rack and a tall storage cabinet. It was honestly better than most motel rooms they'd stayed at the past six months.

"It's just…so _beautiful_ ," Amarii prattled on, wiping a lone tear from her eye. She then quickly began to tear off her clothes and turn on the shower. "I'll be in here for the next two hours, don't bother me," she hissed and shut the door in Gabriel's face. He couldn't help but smile as a result.

* * *

I wrote this because I couldn't get the premise out of my head. So it'll probably get a little messy since I didn't think the whole thing through prior to writing. Enjoy it anyway I guess!


	2. Facing the Sins of his Father

**2**

 _"Facing the Sins of his Father"_

The booming sound of a morning bell rattled Gabriel from his dreams, he slowly opened his eyes and cursed that bell to hell. It just woke him from the best night's sleep he's had in a long fucking time. How dare it take that away from him. He groaned as the bell rang out again. "Shut the _fuck_ up, oh my god," he growled and rolled over onto his side. He had a soft thin blanket and two nice fluffy pillows, there was no way in hell he was getting up now. He did though turn his head to read the digital clock on the nightstand that was on Amarii's side of the room. His eyes widened to see it was six thirty in the damn morning. "What the fuck…it's Saturday for fucks sake," he whispered under his breath and grabbed the pillow he wasn't using and put it over his head.

"What the hell are these people doing up so early?" Amarii asked, her aqua hair a huge rats nest and her eyes droopy and barely open. The morning bell rang out again, startling both Gabriel and Amarii this time.

" _Breakfast in thirty!_ " A voice echoed over the intercom, Gabriel recognized it to be the green haired woman they met yesterday, Nikki, he thought.

"Oh man…homecooked food, that's tempting," Amarii muttered and flipped onto her belly. "No more nachos…I wonder what they're making…I hope it's pancakes," she rambled on to herself.

"Shut up and go see for yourself," Gabriel said through the pillow.

* * *

"Feeling better Maxie Pad?" Hana asked as she passed behind her brother, who was sitting at one of the far tables in the mess hall. His head was resting on top of his folded arms.

"What the hell did I tell you about calling me that?" He spat and opened one eye to glower at her.

"Yeah you've been telling me that since I was twelve, but has it stopped me? _No_ ," she retorted with a smirk and sat down next to him. He shot daggers at her for a few seconds before he gave up and closed his eyes again. Bouncy pop music rang out from the kitchen as Nikki danced around and cooked at the same time. She didn't normally cook, it was Hana's father, David, that did it. That was until they hired another cook, as the last one quit after one summer. Nikki didn't mind though, she enjoyed cooking when she got the chance. Gives her an excuse to be creative – she did burn things quite often though.

"You were pretty dead yesterday when I told you, so I'll tell you again, we got two counselor applicants come in, they're in cabin A," Hana told Max as she fiddled with her phone. Max's eyes opened, and he gave her a skeptical look.

"Already? That's fucking early, we don't get applicants until like the middle of June," he said and lifted his head. He then ran his hand through his mess of hair and looked over at the kitchen. "Nik know?"

"Yeah she knows, she was there," Hana answered, her eyes not leaving her phone. Max turned back toward her.

"What're they like?" he asked, trying to hide his curiosity.

"Hm…they seem shady to me, but Nikki acted really weird when she saw the guy," she said offhandedly. This piqued Max's interest even more though.

"What? Like weird how?" he asked and snatched her phone from her. Hana squeaked and frowned at him. Him doing that was normal though, so she didn't throw a fit or anything. She knew she'd get it back. She paused for a second then, remembering how distraught Nikki looked when she met Gabriel – who she knew as Sean.

"Oh, uh, she said she felt like she'd met him before, she looked like she'd seen a ghost though," she explained and waited patiently for her brother to return her phone.

"What's this guy look like?" he questioned and tapped Hana's phone against his chin expectantly. Hana rolled her eyes.

"Um, dark skin, dirty blonde hair…oh and violet eyes," she replied and rested her cheek against her palm. Max looked to ponder this information for a second, trying to put together pieces in his mind. Hana watched him with leery eyes, did he know something she didn't about this guy? Well, he probably knew a lot she didn't, she couldn't doubt that. He was a very closed off kind of guy, but Nikki seemed to be bothered by the stranger as well. Something didn't sit quite right with her about the newcomers and she felt determined to find out why.

"Violet…" Max mumbled and looked off into the distance. Hana then snapped her fingers close to his ear. He flinched and turned his eyes to her.

"Max, what is so special about this guy? You and Nik know him?" she asked.

"Ah…no, I don't think so? Did he tell you his name by chance?"

"Sean,"

"Sean, what?"

"I didn't ask last names, but we'll probably know when dad gets here to do the interviews," Hana retorted.

"Or, we'll know now," Max whispered as the mess hall door opened to reveal Amarii and Gabriel as they sauntered in sleepily. They looked around confused for a moment until they saw Hana.

"You're a bit early for breakfast, come sit with us!" Hana called to them with a wave of her hand. With a bit of hesitation Gabriel followed Amarii as she pranced over to them.

"Good morning Hana!" Amarii greeted her with a tired but excited smile. Hana had to force herself to return the smile. The two sat down across from her and Max and there was a bit of silence while Max looked over the two. His eyes met Gabriel's and he felt his blood run cold. Hana blinked, confused by the sudden silence, then looked to her brother. His eyes were wide for a split second before he looked away. Without warning he got up and walked to the kitchen. Leaving Hana's phone on the table.

"Max?" Hana called after him, but he didn't stop. "That was weird," she whispered to herself. That was out of character for him, he was so cynical and unmoved by nature. Never did anything get to him, she'd tried her whole life to scare him in one way or another, but she'd always failed. She'd sworn his heart was made of stone for the majority of her childhood. How did just looking into another's eyes appear to have shaken him so evidently?

"Who was that?" Amarii asked curiously. Hana shook her head and turned her attention back to the strangers.

"Oh, that's my brother, Max," she replied, trying to hide her concern.

"He doesn't look anything like you," Gabriel noted with an insolent tone. Amarii was quick to elbow him in the ribs as a response.

"He's adopted," Hana replied with a similar tone, not pleased with his attitude. This didn't seem to bother him though as he just stared at Hana with an unimpressed expression. The two then entered a very intense staring contest. Amarii chuckled awkwardly in attempt to break the tense air.

"I'm…please excuse him, he was raised in a barn," she laughed and elbowed him again. He broke his gaze with Hana to look at his friend with a deep scowl. Just then Max and Nikki returned to the table; Nikki had a white apron on that was splattered with pancake batter and her hair was up in a messy bun. She also carried a tray of plates full of pancakes.

"Ready to eat, kids?" she asked cheerfully. Max stood beside her with an unreadable guise, one that made Hana uneasy. Everyone ate in moderate silence, only saying a word or two either about the food or ask for the butter or syrup. Hana watched the scene very closely, noting both her brother's actions and expressions but Nikki's as well. Max was sort of on edge, as he appeared to watch Gabriel's every move, so much so he weakly flinched when Gabriel reached toward Hana for the syrup bottle. Nikki seemed to be in a similar boat, but she was much better at hiding it. She watched both Amarii and Gabriel with a hawk's eye, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Hana did notice though that her stare was softer than Max's, sort of like she was keeping an eye on an old friend that confessed to stealing from her. It was an interesting scene to watch, honestly. After they finished eating Nikki and Max cleaned up the plates and took them to the kitchen. Hana happened to look up at them from the serving window and she saw them whispering to each other almost urgently. Nikki had a concerned face while Max looked pissed.

Gabriel then got up from his seat and lumbered to the door, Amarii was sipping from her glass of milk as she watched him leave. "Where's he going?" Hana asked quietly. Amarii put her cup down.

"He's having a smoke," she replied nonchalantly.

"What? How old is he?"

"Eighteen, and I know, I know – cancer and lung disease and all that," Amarii yawned and fiddled with her cup. "Don't mention any of that to him, he gets snippy."

"He seems snippy all the time," Hana mentioned with an annoyed voice. Amarii snickered and took another sip of her drink.

"Ain't that the truth," she muttered.

Gabriel leaned against the outside of the mess hall with a cigarette in his mouth. He watched the world around him with an aura of callous. His mom talked about this place now and again, and spoke of it like it was a lost dream, a dream she wished for just one night, she'd have again. He remembered when he was little he'd ask to come here for a summer, so he could have a semblance of why she treasured it so much. His mother always turned it down though, saying that they were no longer welcome here, that she didn't even want to think of trying to go back. Though there were fond memories here, there was still a living memory here that she just didn't have the heart to face. As he thought of this, that very same living memory she spoke so fondly of pulled up in a red pick-up truck. Gabriel took a puff of his cigarette before putting it out, "time to test fate, I guess." He mumbled to himself and turned back toward the mess hall. He walked in to see Amarii and Hana chattering along; Hana looked somewhat disinterested while Amarii rambled, on and on. Like she usually did. He looked around for the others to hear them talking from the kitchen. He stayed near the door in attempt to hear them without being spotted.

"You can't really think…?" Nikki spoke, her voice strained.

"It's a possibility, Nik, and he's probably here for some sick revenge on David," Max hissed.

"No, Max, if Daniel wanted revenge he'd have come for David a long time ago,"

"That fucker was a mastermind, you know this! It was probably all a part of his plan, steal Gwen away, force her to have his kid, then send that kid here to kill us. As more of a _fuck you_ , ya'know?"

"I know you're still hurt from what Gw—,"

"I'm not hurt! She decided who she cared about more and that's her decision, _I don't care_ ," Gabriel heard Max shuffle his feet then sigh. "I might…I might still be offended she never came back after the fucker died…though."

"She did have a son to raise," Nikki tried to reason with him.

"Yeah, that we could've helped with! Well, David could've helped with – that sad asshole is still so hung-up on her…I think it bothers him almost as much as Phoebe's de—," Gabriel heard Max's breath catch in his throat.

"Don't," Nikki quickly shushed him, "just, _don't_ , okay?" Before the conversation could carry on the door behind Gabriel swung open, hitting him the process. He jumped forward as fast as he could, but the door still scrapped against his backside.

"Oh, terribly sorry son," a gentle voice apologized, "you're not hurt are you?" Gabriel twisted around to see a very tall thin but built man with deep auburn hair, it was swept back with a noticeable cowlick the shape of a puff ball dead center above his forehead. There were obvious streaks of grey in his hair as well, it even faded into a pale red further down his head. His big round eyes shone a brilliant forest green as well, the same shade of color his daughter's eyes displayed. His skin was a slightly tanned white that was covered in freckles and the occasional scar. Gabriel could tell this dude lived and breathed the outdoors, everything his mom described. He was though way more rugged than what his mom labelled him as in her journals. She wrote the word 'beanpole' more than once, this dude was built and toned, tall, yes, but a beanpole? Not at all. But he will admit almost twenty years will change someone. And for this guy, it appeared to be for the best.

"Uh, no, I'm fine," Gabriel forced out and stepped back. Suddenly unsure of himself.

"Dad!" Hana's shriek made Gabriel cringe. She launched from her seat and ran to him. She latched onto him like a koala and he laughed warmly, swinging her around.

"Oh, these are the counselor applicants!" Hana said as her dad put her down, "Sean and Sam," she gestured to Gabriel then pointed to the other end of the room where Amarii sat.

"Very nice to meet you two! I'm David Atwood, the owner of this wonderful camp!" he welcomed them with a big smile. As cheerful as ever, another thing his mom mentioned.

"David," Max appeared from the kitchen doorway, "I need to talk to you for a moment." David looked surprised for a moment, his smile faltering at his son's serious look.

"Oh, uh, of course Max," he replied and followed Max outside. Hana followed them with her eyes until the door shut.

"Daaaamn, your dad is hot," Amarii said coolly as she strolled up to Gabriel and Hana. The redhead shot the girl a disgusted look while Gabriel tried his absolute best not to nod his head in agreement.

* * *

After the terribly awkward interviews conducted by Mister Atwood, Gabriel and Amarii were released to do whatever they pleased for the rest of the day while David and Max talked over their enrollment. Gabriel couldn't get the look David had throughout the entire interview, it's like he was watching a dog die in a family movie. It made the poor eighteen-year-old really uncomfortable and almost blow his cover from sheer embarrassment. Such solemn deep green eyes rarely met his own as he asked question after question, his voice barely above a whisper, like he was scared if he talked any louder Gabriel would bolt. David bounced around certain topics, as if he wanted to ask something but couldn't…or _shouldn't_. He kept his eyes on the papers in front of him for the most part, only meeting his gaze when Gabriel took longer than expected to answer a question. Finally when he was given the okay to go he shot up so fast he almost got whiplash.

"How was your interview?" Gabriel asked as they walked into their shared cabin. Amarii trotted in with the gusto of a toddler given the okay to pick out two toys at the toy store.

"Just fine! Mister Atwood is a real sweetheart," she replied with a grin.

"Really? He had the look of a kicked puppy the whole time during mine," Gabriel huffed almost angrily.

"Maybe…maybe he knows who you areee," Amarii said in a gloomy voice and wiggled her fingers near her face.

"Shut up, no he doesn't. I probably just remind him of my mom,"

"Or your dad," she shot back in a colder voice than intended. That thought didn't cross Gabriel's mind to be honest. Probably because he didn't like thinking that he looked at all like his father. Surely he didn't? Right? Without replying he sauntered past Amarii and into the bathroom. He stopped and examined himself in the mirror, he had a slightly lighter skin tone than his mom so that wasn't it – obviously he had his mom's eye color and shape – his mom's nose. He then slowly reached up and touched his hair, an almost honey color that darkened to a pale reddish brown at the base of his skull. His dad's hair was a platinum blonde, Gabriel's hair didn't look anything like his. Was it the way it was styled? He smoothed it back with a swipe of his hand, but immediately a small cowlick flicked up at the widow's peak as if to mock him. He pursed his lips in response then wetted his hand and smoothed it back again. The cowlick bounced back with a prominent "fuck you!" Gabriel let out a grunt.

"Want me to fix up your hair?" Amarii poked her head in with a friendly smile. Now usually Gabriel would blow her off, say 'absolutely not!'. But now with these nagging thoughts he couldn't seem to ignore. He looked at himself in the mirror before looking at his friend.

"…Sure," he answered softly. Amarii's face lit up.

"Oh my god, oh my god, you have no idea how long I've wanted to play with your hair!" she squealed and clasped onto his shoulders as she walked behind him. She opened up the storage cabinet and pulled out one of those white shower chairs. She unfolded it and practically shoved it against the back of his knees. A yelp caught in his throat as he plopped down on the seat. The mirror above the sink would usually be out of the way for doing this sort of thing but Gabriel was tall enough to make it work, even while sitting.

"Just don't mess it up too bad, bunny, okay?" he murmured as she pulled out the hair tie keeping his man-bun intact. His golden locks reached to about the base of his neck; it was thick and curled faintly at the ends. It was two toned like most dirty blonde carriers except his was slightly red underneath. She quickly ran out to grab her brush and clippers. When she returned he was messing with the cowlick above his forehead with a frustrated look.

"I can snip that if you want," she suggested and began brushing out his matted hair.

"Please do," he growled. Amarii let an amused smile spread across her face as she brushed out his hair and after trying to smooth out the cowlick and fixing it over his scalp she sliced it off.

As she went to work Gabriel tried his best to be compliant, but he couldn't help but let out a groan, yap, or curse now and again because of how matted he'd let his hair become. Amarii had a knack for hairdressing, that's what she wanted to be growing up actually. She ran her fingers down his scalp soothingly as she hummed along to a song in her head. She then guided him over to the shower where she sat him just out of reach from the water, she then tilted his head back to meet the fall. Amarii was surprised he was letting her do all this, he was usually pretty touchy about the way he looked and was too proud to let anyone help him. She thought about the offhand comment she made about his dad earlier, that obviously triggered this. She'd have to apologize later, but now she having too much fun.

After washing out the conditioner she ringed out his hair then wrapped it up in a white towel. She then helped him back over to the spot in front of the mirror.

"Want me to cut it short? Just a'trim? What can I do for you, lover boy?" she asked in a hoity-toity sing-song voice. The towel still covering most of his head, including his eyes and nose, just leaving his mouth exposed. Gabriel thought for a moment then smiled.

"Just a trim, love," he decided to play along and reply in the same sickeningly sweet sing-song tone. Amarii let out a joyful laugh as she roughly ran the towel over his head. She could see the playful smirk plastered on his face as she did so.

When everything was done it was almost like Gabriel was glowing. His honey colored hair was shining and adorably curling at the ends. She straight trimmed the back and gave him slightly side-swept bangs. He was still able to pull it up into a bun if he wanted but instead opted to tie it up in a ponytail. It even curled so much in the back the high ponytail cascaded down into a shower of curls. While she left longer strands next to the bangs that fell down in front of his ears, similar to how her hair was styled except his bangs were side-swept not straight cut. Amarii was so proud of her work she wanted to drag him out of the cabin and show everyone, but he was already letting her get away so much. She half expected Gabriel to find something wrong with it, to bitch about in some way or another. But he just smiled warmly at his reflection, an expression she hadn't seen on his face in years. One she thought he'd never make again. Gabriel caught her staring though and quickly returned to a passive expression.

"Ah…thanks, Amarii," he said and nodded.

"Anytime Gabe," she replied.

* * *

It was an hour after dinner when Gabriel and Amarii decided it was time to set their plan into motion. They'd told Hana they were going on a night hike around the lake, which was technically true, since they'd need to hike a ways to get to the hidden dingey they were "gifted". Hana's father was thrilled to hear this and it probably further ensured them being hired. They were given a small backpack with supplies and though they said they wouldn't need it, Amarii was thankful for it when she was forced to trek up a hill.

"Why the hell is the…dingey so far away?" she panted and swung her head back, chugging from one of their water bottles.

"There are other camps in this area, we couldn't risk it being found and returned," Gabriel replied with a hard breath. His hair was up in a bun again, so his thick locks wouldn't cause him to overheat. Or, more likely, bitch like a child when he couldn't put his hair up for some reason.

"Where did you get the thing anyway?" she asked. The path to the boat was a long one through fairly thick forest, they'd gone off the path twenty minutes ago so there was no clear indication where they were going.

"Don't worry about it," he answered and jumped over a fallen tree. Amarii didn't notice this though and her foot nicked the edge of the tree. She squeaked and out of instinct grabbed onto the nearest thing and that was of course Gabriel. She grasped onto the boy's jacket so hard he was forced to lean back, and he couldn't support Amarii's weight at all so they both clattered to the forest floor. "Fucking hell!" he groaned and rubbed the back of his head. Amarii let out a wheeze from under him.

"Sorry…I didn't see the stupid tree," she whined and shifted so she wasn't laying on her arms. "Can you get up though? I can't breathe."

"Nah I think I'll stay here until you pass out," he grunted but after a few moments he got back onto his feet. Amarii took in a deep breath before hauling herself to her feet as well. The rest of the walk was uneventful, except for when Amarii got her foot stuck in the mud that surrounded the river than fed into the lake. The dingey was masterfully hidden under a recently fallen tree that still had all it's branches full of pine needles. It took about twenty minutes for Gabriel and Amarii to push the branches aside and pull the small wooden boat out. As Gabriel dragged the boat toward the water Amarii caught the carved words "PROPERTY OF THE WOODSCOUTS" on the unders of the boat.

"The lake is awfully pretty," Amarii commented as they started rowing toward the island. Well, Gabriel rowed, Amarii just sat at the end of the boat and watched everything around her. She was told to be a lookout, but she was really just admiring the lake and the sky. It was getting close to twilight, so the sky was a faded orange mixed with blue. There were scattered white clouds above the lake and a light breeze.

"Uh huh," was all Gabriel could get out as he rowed. It was more arduous than he expected and was getting winded. It took about thirty minutes to get to the island and by the end Gabriel wanted to lay down on the beach and die.

"You okay Gabe?" Amarii asked as he dragged the dingey onto the shore, so it didn't float away while on the water.

"Fine, fine, just dying on the inside, don't mind me," he gasped and dropped the boat with an audible thump.

"Oh, I won't," she chirped as she wandered around in the thicket of the island. "But you should explain where the hell we're going." It took a few minutes before Gabriel could collect himself. He had his hands on his knees and head dropped. He took in a very exaggerated breath before throwing his head up.

"All right, all right," he heaved, "from what Daniel wrote in his letters, the last piece was located in a room met with pain…a room, uh, lemme get the paper." He said and pulled out a tattered piece of paper. Amarii trotted over and leaned next to his arm so she could read it too. The letter read;

 _"Hey Sport!_

 _You've come this far and I'm so very proud of you! You're almost there and I'm sure you'll understand why this little game of treasure hunt is so important. Where you are now is called "Spooky Island", weird name, I know, but it's not unfounded. This island is haunted, I assure you. But what you're looking for is something I held close to me, I intended it for you the year you turned fifteen but…life has a way of changing things I guess. It's located in a room met with pain, a necessary pain, a room where morals are left behind. You'll know it's yours when you find it, use it well, my son._

 _Your Dad,"_

Amarii let out a chuckle, " _'Hey Sport'_? Even though this dude was a monstrous murderer he can still manage to sound like an average run-of-the-mill dad? Incredible." Gabriel let out a shaky breath.

"What do you think the room he's talking about is? _A room where morals are left behind_ …surely there isn't anything like that on the island."

"Oh, there is," a stranger's voice said, startling both teens so badly Gabriel crumpled his dad's letter and Amarii probably left indents in her friend's arm from squeezing it so tightly. They both shot around expecting to see a man in black ready to kill them but instead they saw a child – just a random child – he was probably no older than ten with short golden brown hair and big blue eyes. He wore a yellow short-sleeved shirt – a purple undershirt that poked out at his collar, sleeves and the bottom – blue shorts with lighter blue triangles on them and white light-up sneakers. Both Amarii and Gabriel were so stunned they couldn't formulate words for a good five minutes. The boy stared at them innocently, waiting patiently for them to say something.

"…What…what the hell? What're you doing here kid?" Gabriel finally spoke. The boy looked around pointlessly before stepping toward them.

"Never mind that, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"We—uh," Gabriel started but paused to look at Amarii, pleading for help. She just looked at the boy then to her friend with utterly confused eyes. "Do we need to take you to the police or something? Are you lost?" he asked in a concerned tone. The boy just let out a sigh.

"Not technically," he replied softly. "But follow me, I know what you're looking for," he stated and started walking through the undergrowth. Gabriel was hugging himself, not sure what he should be doing at this moment in time. Amarii watched the boy as he led them into the darkness of the woods. Deciding this just might as well be happening she grabbed Gabriel's sleeve and pulled him along. The forest was seemingly closer to a jungle than a forest; it was thick, had dangling vines, and moss simply covered everything. The trees were so tall and thick that it blocked out whatever light came from the sky. After just a few minutes the child led the two to an absolutely decrepit looking house. The wilderness had officially reclaimed this building and it was fascinating to see.

"Holy shit…this place must be a hundred years old," Amarii said in awe. The child let out a snort-laugh.

"Close, but no," he said and trotted up to the front steps of the house. "What you're looking for is in there, at the basement level. It's a little tricky getting there but I think you can handle it."

Gabriel was about to speak up, but the kid turned toward the front door and walked _through_ it. The two blinked, it must've been a trick of the eye, the front door was a dark color and it's dark out. He's just inside the house now – there might not even be a door. "I've had enough of creepy things tonight!" Gabriel shouted and stormed up to the house. Amarii just swallowed nervously.

"Was he…Gabe, you think he was a ghost?" she gasped and held her hand to her mouth in a shocked manner. Gabriel just rolled his eyes, but after a second he began to think. What was easier to believe in this case; a random child appearing on an island that only the surrounding summer camps have access too but none of them were officially open yet or the ghost of a dead child appearing and guiding them on their quest for self-discovery? He really wasn't sure in this case. It sort of fucked with his brain to think about. So he didn't.

"Come on, let's get whatever my stupid dad wanted me to get," he mumbled and walked into the abandoned house. The wood of the house was decaying. Random plants and moss were growing up through the floorboards along the walls. This house has been left to it's devices for a good thirty years at least, as the two walked through the entryway the floors creaked, seemingly screaming at them. Amarii pulled out her flashlight as they walked, since there was literally no light otherwise.

"This better be fucking worth it," Gabriel hissed.

* * *

That haircut scene was a bit unnecessary, I think. I like it anyway though. Also yay! David finally makes his appearance. I still feel kind of weird writing for canon characters but given it's been twenty plus years since the events in the show, I don't feel too awkward for any OOC-ness.


End file.
